Yes, I 100% agree that a PCT record must be on THE TRAIL with no road walks. If a fire blocks the trail, it also blocks the speed record attemp. No questions.
I do see a potential danger for anyone who is so comitted to breaking the record and have already logged mega miles, that when faced with a fire close they might continue anyway. As mountain climbers have said, the trail will always be there another year.
In response to the comment "I doubt there has ever been a year when there wasn't some road walk due to a trail closure. That would mean hardly anyone has done a thru hike" I wanted to say I've done the PCT twice and avioded road walks due to forest fires, which I'm so thankful for the good luck.
________________________________
From: Frank Dumville <fdumville at earthlink.net>
To: Pct-l <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Saturday, August 24, 2013 9:29 AM
Subject: [pct-l] WIlliamson Record Attempt
I doubt there has ever been a year when there wasn't some road walk due to a trail closure. That would mean hardly anyone has done a thru hike according to your standards which seems a bit strict.
I don't believe the PCTA gets involved in these things and rightly so.
Snap
In response to post:
Look... it's simple... an unassisted record must be the entire trail as it
is laid out, no road walks due to fire or other closers, no assistance from
extraneous sources (rides to town or friends meeting one at designated
points, etc) random acts of trail magic and caches not withstanding...
Otherwise it isn't a complete thru hike.
We all, or at least the PCTA, need to agree on these guidelines or records
are, well, inconsequential....
Your resident purest
Snap
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